Episode 71: Strictly Ballroom (1992)

Here we close our “Special Guest Star” series with none other than the talented and charming Valerie Kuhns, a woman with everything going for her with the exception of the fact that she is related to Mike.  Specifically, she is his sister.  Shudder for a moment as you think of what that was like.  Val has overcome this considerable obstacle and has brought one of her favorite movies for our discussion: Baz Luhrman’s directorial debut “Strictly Ballroom”, a charming, slightly off-kilter romantic comedy about the world of Australian competitive ballroom dancing.  Doesn’t sound that thrilling, does it.  Well, this movie may surprise you! It may stun you! It may steal your heart and your wallet and possibly your shoes! Your dancing shoes! Someone please stop me! Listen in and hear what Val and your usual hosts have to say about this movie.  And let me stress: there are NO NEW STEPS!

Episode 70: In Bruges (2008)

Welcome back to another episode in our “Special Guest Star” series! This week we sit down with the intelligent, witty and annoyingly tall Ned Martenis (also known, in some circles, as my godson).  Ned has chosen one of his favorite movies, the often-underrated “In Bruges,” a dark comedy starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two hitmen hiding out in Belgium, in the picturesque city of Bruges.  Even if the performances weren’t as good as they are, the movie is worth watching just to see how amazing Bruges looks.  Ned leads us through a discussion of the merits and flaws of this very affecting movie, while Mike and I make dopey jokes and point out how many actors from the Harry Potter movies show up in this film (there’s a bunch).  Give a listen: enjoy Ned, and tolerate us.

Episode 69: All About Eve (1950)

And here we are with another “Special Guest Star” to do some of the heavy lifting of . . . well, talking about movies.  Hey, some of those scenes can get pretty bulky! This week it’s another of Mike’s Michigan crew, the insightful Haley King; she’s chosen to discuss one of her favorite movies of all time, the 1950 Bette Davis classic “All About Eve”.  Haley is young, ambitious, driven and oh god, Mike’s brought her in to replace me.  Haven’t you, Mike? HAVEN’T YOU? Seriously, tune in and give a listen to Haley’s thoughts (and ours) on this remarkable piece of cinema.  I assure, it won’t be a bumpy night at all.

Episode 68: Man on the Moon (1999)

After the carnage that was “You Can’t Make Me, You Can’t Make”, we gratefully stumble into a brand new series “With Special Guest Star . . .”, where we take the winners of our “Host With Max and Mike” contest and CRUSH THEIR SPIRITS WITH THE WORST MOVIES  . . . *pant* *pant* *pant* . . . sorry, that last series is kind of sticking with me. No, for the next few episodes we’re turning the movie choice over to each of our contest winners and hearing what they have to say about why they chose the move they chose.  Is it a favorite movie? An important one? That kind of movie you just have to watch every so often? This week, it’s Mike’s buddy The Weezil and his choice is 1999’s Andy Kaufman biopic, starring Jim Carrey.  Does this movie hold up? What kind of picture does it give of the controversial comedian/performance artist/whatever-the-heck-Kaufman-was? Give a listen to the Weez’s words’es.